Why it’s good: The gritty authenticity of The Rider, which casts true-everyday living horse wrangler Brady Jandreau as an wounded rodeo star trying to discover his next act, is completely well balanced by a craving poetic top quality that under no circumstances feels cloying or manipulative. Like the tale of participant Terry Donahue, a lesbian who, though was a star on the staff, saved her sexuality a top secret.